Friday, April 9, 2010

I realize I haven’t updated in a while. Things have been in flux here in Brooklyn. R and I are moving out of our apartment, which is exciting since our neighborhood was less than ideal, but also quite stressful as we try to pack in as many apartment visits as possible before the end of the month. We haven’t been grocery shopping in eons, and Passover was last week, which meant no leavened bread, so we’ve been eating peanut butter and parve Nutella on matzoh for the better part of two weeks. Yikes!

This weekend, nothing would make me happier than heading up to Northampton, MA to visit my friends and embark on a very special journey called Donut Tour 2010. Instead, I’ll be drowning in piles of work and searching for apartments, but I have a tremendous amount of faith that this first ever event will NOT be the last. I am already anticipating varied forms of the tour in 2011, 2012 and beyond. Maybe in New York next year? Brooklyn, of course? I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with the facts.

It’s no secret that my friends are geniuses. It’s also no secret that OMG Food is passionate about good ideas and good food, which is why this blog is the perfect space to detail this incredible journey.

Please see the official press release below:

DONUT TOUR 2010 TO HIT THE VALLEY THIS SATURDAY

On Saturday, April 10, over thirty residents of the Pioneer Valley will participate in a six-stop "Donut Tour," driving to multiple donut shops throughout the valley and sampling donuts at each location.

Participants in "Donut Tour 2010" will meet at 81 Bridge Street in Northampton at 10:00am and don screen-printed t-shirts, buttons, and signs all made for the occasion. They will each be given a map of the chosen locations, comment cards to fill out for each stop, and a custom-made "Donut Tour Mix" CD consisting solely of songs that have to do with donuts.

The Tour's first stop is the Donut Man in Hadley. Other stops include the North Hadley Sugar Shack, Atkins Farms and Henions Bakery in Amherst, Sunrise Pastry Shop in Easthampton, and the Donut Dip in West Springfield. At the Donut Dip, participants will be greeted with a top-secret "Donut Surprise."

"Donut Tour 2010" was conceived by Elena Lavarreda, an '08 Smith alum and Valley native, who recruited friends to help with the planning. "I just got to thinking about how many great donut shops there are in the valley that my friends and I never get to experience," she says. "I wanted to change that."

Paige Hendry-Bodnar, an '09 Smith alum and fellow organizer, concurs: "This is a great way to support local businesses and build community. People of all ages are set to attend the Tour, which is exciting. But mostly, I am excited about eating DONUTS."

To break down the journey a little further:Donut enthusiasts will meet at 10am sharp and caravan north to their first stop, Donut Man in Hadley, MA where they will enjoy the famous buttermilk and sour cream donuts.

Next, they’ll continue to North Hadley and won’t stop till they reach the North Hadley Sugar Shack to feast upon maple cream donuts.

Arriving in Amherst, the caravan will unload at Henion Bakery and ask for jelly donuts made with raspberry jam.

Most donut tour members will be familiar with the next stop, Atkins Farms, where many Smithies have spent glorious Mountain Days with classmates picking apples, sipping cider and eating the Farm’s world famous cider donuts.

Perhaps after a short break and some stretches after 4 donut locations, donuteers will continue to Easthampton to Sunrise Bakery for some good ole’ fashion donuts.

And finally, if the anticipation isn’t killing you yet, the last and final stop is: Donut Dip in West Springfield where guests will enjoy a surprise donut! What could it be? What do they have up their sleeves? We’ll all have to wait to find out.

But what about vegans like me? Will they be left out? Of course not. The Donut tour event planners take this work very seriously and want this experience to appeal to all walks of life, which is why vegan donuts will be offered throughout the journey.

Want to hear more? The Donut Tour team will be blogging about the experience, tweeting up a storm and voting for their favorite donuts. Check out their destination map and twitter updates.